Jazzed up: Swing Into Spring is a show across generations
During his decades-long career as a National Geographic photographer, Bill Allard traveled the world and documented everything from India’s Untouchables and residents of the Marais in Paris to Montana cowboys and Easter week traditions in Peru. But for all of Allard’s adventures, there’s something the octogenarian, who’s also an accomplished musician, still longs to do: […]
Game plan: At play on the fields (and courts) of the University of Virginia
Ralph Sampson, Dawn Staley. Malcolm Brogdon, Tiki Barber. Leah Smith. It’s no secret that many storied athletes have graduated from the University of Virginia. What may not be as well-known, though, is that athletes (of both the varsity and casual variety) don’t spend all their time at venues like Scott Stadium, the John Paul Jones […]
For all to see: Robert Llewellyn brings the natural world into view
The photographer Robert Llewellyn looks at things differently than you and I. While we might point out the colorful crocuses that dot the snow-covered front lawn of his Earlysville home, Llewellyn really sees them. And he wants to be certain a visitor does too, bending down to point out the particulars of yellow stamens and […]
Area musicians get jazzed for Albemarle High School benefit
Vocalist Veronica Swift has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center several times. She’s got a regular gig at New York’s legendary Birdland, and she tours with trumpeter Chris Botti. She’s also shared the stage with Michael Feinstein, Esperanza Spalding and Paquito D’Rivera. But the 23-year-old Albemarle County native says the place she’s most happy is […]
Clothes call: Local teen spearheads free laundry service
Cutter Huston has never had to worry about clean clothes. But it wasn’t until he became involved with The Laundry Project that he realized not everyone takes something so basic for granted. The son of an Army brigadier general, Huston was living in Tampa, Florida, when his mother, Michelle, saw a news story about people […]
Fowl play: Order your farm-raised Thanksgiving turkey before it’s too late
We’re not fans of the candy corn and skeletons that appear on store shelves in July. And don’t get us started on Christmas merchandise that shows up before the leaves begin to fall. But there’s one holiday-related item we do suggest you think about now: a pasture-raised Thanksgiving turkey from a local farm, which probably […]
Summer VILLAGE: Teenager Julian Waters makes bid for school board seat
On a recent Thursday, Julian Waters was giving blood while answering a magazine reporter’s questions—a typical morning of multitasking for a busy politician. But Waters isn’t your typical politician. The Western Albemarle High School senior is running for the Samuel Miller District seat on the Albemarle County School Board. The youngest person ever to do […]
UVA’s Kate Tamarkin takes her final curtain call
When Kate Tamarkin was an undergraduate at Southern California’s Chapman University, orchestra conductor was not on her list of career choices. “As a female back then, it never occurred to me to even want to [do that],” the music director and conductor of the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia says. But she was […]
Charlottesville High School String Ensemble is Ireland bound
“If you’re brought up in Charlottesville, this city is the center of the universe,” says Laura Mulligan Thomas. “It’s a great town; a wonderful place,” the long-time conductor of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra quickly adds. But when her young musicians perform further afield (in France, Italy, England and Switzerland, for example), she says it […]
Hot damn! MarieBette’s hot chocolate so fine
There’s hot chocolate and then there’s the warm, silky-smooth blend of housemade ganache and milk they whip up at MarieBette Café & Bakery. Rich, just thick enough and not too sweet, this cuppa wonderful is made to be sipped slowly and savored. It’s a grown-up version of a childhood favorite, served in a place that treats […]
Talking turkey with Foods of All Nations’ Bill Yenovkian
Bill Yenovkian laughs as he attempts to describe the perfect Thanksgiving turkey “without sounding pornographic.” You want a “full, nice-shaped bird,” the longtime Foods of All Nations butcher begins. And then he stops, embarrassed, and tries again: “You want a rounded, plump breast…” Why don’t we start with the number of people you’re serving and […]
In tune: Young musicians hit the right notes with YOCVA
Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival founders, Juilliard School graduates, members of Dave Matthews Band…scroll down the list of local musicians who have played in the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia, and you won’t doubt the almost-40-year-old organization’s claim: “Music begins with us.” “We’re the only opportunity in the community for young people who play winds and […]
A whole new world: Area author tells a multicultural children’s tale
By the time Priya Mahadevan’s youngest daughter was 5 years old, Mahadevan had completed drafts for six children’s books. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that she published the first one: Princesses Only Wear Putta-Puttas, the semi-true story of a visit to India with her daughter for a wedding. “The trip was so profound […]
Course of nature: Gabriel Mapel is for the birds—and the bears
During a visit to Shenandoah National Park when he was 9 years old, Gabriel Mapel saw a mother black bear with her three cubs, and “from that moment on, my life would fully revolve around nature,” says the now-16-year-old. Not only did the bears get him “hooked,” Mapel says they also turned him into an […]
Home sweet home: Bigger is better at Gearharts Fine Chocolates
Tim Gearhart outgrew his space in the Main Street Market five years ago, but it wasn’t until late last fall that he opened his new store in the Vinegar Hill Shopping Center next door to Staples. Gearhart’s business had grown enormously since it opened in 2001, back when he used two forks to hand-dip every […]
All that jazz: Local musicians join forces for a good cause
When Greg Thomas sent an audition tape of the Albemarle High School Jazz Ensemble to Swing Central last fall, he didn’t give it a second thought. He figured his group had no chance of being one of the 12 bands accepted to the elite three-day competition and workshop that are part of the Savannah Music […]
Twist of fate: How a chance encounter blew up Zak Robbins’ world
When Zak Robbins was in sixth grade, he spotted a long line of people one afternoon on the Downtown Mall. Upon closer inspection, he realized everyone was waiting their turn for a balloon animal, so he joined the queue. When he finally made it to the front, he asked for “the biggest, most elaborate thing […]
It takes a Village
It took two men with a vision to create an all-girls village On the Tuesday before winter break, a spirited debate has broken out in Jamie Knorr’s sixth-grade history class at Village School, the all-girls middle school he and Proal Heartwell founded two decades ago. A few of Knorr’s students have just delivered their soliloquy, […]
Wildest dreams: Joseph Hicks’ soccer book inspires young people to reach for the stars
After almost 20 years as a teacher, Joseph Hicks knows a thing or two about kids. And it’s that knowledge that led him to write Paige and Sophie: Soccer Twins, a children’s book about two soccer-playing sisters who are identical on the outside but very different inside. Paige, a natural athlete, struggles in school, while […]
Kids say the smartest things: Youngest TEDx speaker Maddie Waters talks the talk
Maddie Waters has something to say. But rather than hold forth in a classroom or the school cafeteria, the Western Albemarle High School freshman is taking her message to a bigger stage and a larger audience as a TEDx speaker at the Paramount Theater on Friday, November 13. The 14-year-old, who will be among heady […]
Words with chefs: Jenée Libby’s Edacious podcast gives listeners food for thought
Jenée Libby always wanted to be on the radio. As a child, she spent hours pretending—“Remember Mr. Microphone?” she asks. But Libby’s all grown up now, and she no longer has to pretend, thanks to Edacious, her twice-monthly podcast devoted to all things food. “I initially thought [Edacious] would be a terrific way to bring […]
Play ball! Charlottesville’s Tom Sox are newest team in Valley Baseball League
A sign on the door of the Main Street Arena says it’s closed for the summer, but nobody seems to have told the two dozen folks who are spread out at tables in the lobby of the Downtown Mall event space. A few of them are talking on cell phones, while others stare at laptop screens. […]
For a good time: Local trio Scuffletown still brings the fun
The only reminder of a once-thriving Orange County town is a sign: Scuffletown Road. And while the place may be gone, it’s certainly not forgotten, thanks to John Whitlow, Marc Carraway and Vaughan Mairs, the guys who make up Scuffletown, a high-energy acoustic trio. “During the Depression, Scuffletown was a lively, blue collar place that […]
A girl thing: Area choirs gather to heal and empower
Craig Jennings didn’t know Hannah Graham. But last fall, “after she disappeared under the eyes of cameras on the Downtown Mall, I couldn’t stop thinking about what her family was going through,” said Jennings, the choral director at Burley Middle School. That feeling grew stronger as days turned into weeks, and Jennings watched his students […]
Take two: Second Wind Band celebrates 20 years with annual holiday concert
On an 80-degree October afternoon, it was beginning to sound a lot like Christmas at the Charlottesville Senior Center. “Angels We Have Heard on High” flowed into “O Come All Ye Faithful,” followed by “Jingle Bells” and “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” as the Second Wind Band rehearsed for its December 7 holiday concert. […]
Life saver: The Wildlife Center of Virginia provides real-world education
Dahlia Lithwick didn’t hold out much hope for the injured baby bird her family found last spring. “We put it in a box and were feeding it worms from our compost heap, trying to keep him alive as best we could,” she said. After a lengthy Facebook back-and-forth, it was decided that “Chirpy’s” best chance […]
Getting her goat
It’s been almost a year since Lucy the goat came to live with 8-year-old Emma van der Linde. Lucy wasn’t even 24 hours old when she arrived—and she was very sick. But a nearby farmer knew the van der Linde’s “were suckers for any animal in need, so they contacted us,” said Emma’s mother, Erin. […]